We've been learning about the government in 8th grade US History. I tend to spend a little bit longer on this than most because I think it's really important for young adults to get interested and take an active role in their government (plus, middle school kids really, really, get into rules and rule forming!).

We've been learning about the Great Compromise of 1787. It's a hard concept for the students to envision at first. In a typical middle school mind there is a winner/loser and someone should be right or wrong.

We were discussing how some states wanted everything based off of population and some wanted it by states. I could see the blank looks on their faces. So, I pulled out an analogy that I knew would get them for sure- pizza!

Think of it this way. You and a friend want to order a pizza. You only have enough money for 1 pizza. You want pepperoni, your friend wants sausage (envision heads nodding now). Do you decide not to get pizza? No, of course not. You order a half and half pizza; a compromise!

We then went on to discuss that that was exactly what our founding fathers did. They ordered a half and half pizza. The big states that wanted everything by population are the pepperoni lovers, and the small states that wanted everything by states are the sausage lovers. They both got what they wanted, it was a compromise!

Here is the graphic organizer that we used when discussing this!

If you are interested in any of the items I use to teach Secondary Social Studies check out our store!